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Poleless Streets Mark Omaha's Progress as a Modern Municipality
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VIEW DOWN
IE
T took Omtht thirteen yean to
bury Ka electrlo wtrea In the
buslneia district and remove the
wooden poles. The task has just
been completed and the people
bave not yet done talking . about
the Improved looks of the streets. The
thoroughfares seem wider, certainly are
better lighted and are much safer to
traverse. Aa long as even the telegraph
and signal wires remained In tha air there
was danger of breakage and contact with
tha trolley wires and consequent menace
to Ufa and property, because a wire meant
to carry a small load becomes tremend
ously dangerous when asked to transmit
high potential currents.
In tha district bounded by Eighth and
Eighteenth streets, Jsckson street and Cap
itol avenue tha city Is now free from poles
and aerial wlrea. Telephone conduits ex
tend to the city limits on some streets
and altogether something Ilka 11,000,000 la
Invested In underground construction. The
city now ranks well In this respect with
other municipalities of the country. It
means another stride toward ideal cMo
environment. Naturally the existing Im
provements are only beginnings and tha
future should bring much more.
Beads Begins AsMtatlaa.
Mayor Oaorg Bemla appears to have
keen the original underground wire man
gonoac city officers of tUe.paaC Published ,
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DIOQINO
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A Vast Region of
(Copyright, 190, by Frank O. Carpenter.)
nl respondenoe of The Bee.) For
I T I the lut wMk I have been mov
ing about through different parts
of the inland empire. I entered
It from British Columbia by tha Great
Northern railway, going first to Spokane.
From there I traveled both east and west,
and I am now here on the Columbia river
In tha Big Bend country at Wanatchee, In
tha Wens tehee valley.
I despair of giving you an adequate con
ception of this part of tha United States.
Tha Inland empire was to a large extent a
desert until a few yeara ago; and now It
la only in tha northwest that the people
have begun to appreciate its value. The
formation la so curious that one should see
tt for himself to properly know It. In
brief. It lnoludea tha vast region lying be
tween tha Bitter Root and Cascade moun
t
XM TUB WENATCUEJB
, r
FARNA11 STREET TODAY.
.reporta how him trongljr Advocating the
elimination of poles and overhead wlrea
In 1893, after he had aerved a year of hia
first term, and again In 1804. His refer
ences had the virtue of plain speaking.
During the year between the two reports
the telephone company had on its own
initiative put Its wires below the surface
'In the business district and the mayor, In
1894, 'was able to point to the accomplish
ment as successful demonstration of his
Ideas. He emphasised the necessity of
burying the telegraph wires, and curiously
enough these wires were the last to be so
treated. Not disappearing from overhead
until 1901
HHf an Wire Jfalaavnee.
Tha esthetlcal, as well aa the utilitarian
trend of Mayor Bemis' mind was shown
In his annual message of 1893, when ha
aald concerning the "wire nuisance":
One of the live Issues which should re
ceive the attention of the council Is tha
electric wire nuisance. It Is a question
In my mind whether we should not boldly
take the bull by the horns and follow tha
example set b New York by cutting down
every one of the unsightly telegraph poles
which disfigure our business streets and
clear out the overhead wires, whioh are
a constant source of danger every time
there la a flra, to say nothing of tha ap
pearanoe of the business streets hemmed
In a forest of poles.
The granting of authority for tha erection .
of poles by the several oompanles has
been taken from the nanus oi me enter
ot tLr9 department and such permission
i I.
TRENCH FOR CONDUIT.
tains, which la drained by tha Column! a
river and lta tributaries. It comprises most
of Idaho and a large port of eastern Wash
ington and Oregon. It equals In extent all
of the New England statea, together with
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Maryland, and It - haa mi'.lVons of acres
which are yet to be settled. t
' This territory was onoa a vast sea almost
one-fourth tha slza of the United Statea
proper. It is more than 700 miles wide
and 1.000 miles long. It was penned In by
tha mountains, and lta waters rose until
they finally broke out through tho canyona
which now form parte of tha Bnake and
Columbia river valleys. They cut their way
down to a depth of Z.000 feet and drained
the sea, leaving an Immense plain of allu
vial soil 3,000 feet above tha level of tho
ocean.
This soil of the inland empire is made of
the droppings of silt wanked down from
VALLEY. WHIRS LAND 13 WORTH
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miiHt now be secured from the mayor and
council, but It Is my opinion that the time
has como when the erection of those tower-
Ing poles with their numerous cross bars
lining both Bides of the principal streets
should bo stopred. It has been prsptlosily
d;-munstiatud that telei?rapti lines work as
well, if not better, underground as on high
poles, and the telegraph companies should
be compelled to put their wires under
ground the same aa the telephone company
is noin-g.
We had an example Just, a week ago of
the danger of the overhead system when
the firemen were delayed ten or fifteen
minutes In erecting their extension lad
ders at the Continental block fire and were
afraid all the time of coming In contact
with the deadly electric light wires. There
can be no doubt that these overhead wires
cause a loss of thousands of dollars an
nually by delaying the fire department,
and they should be done away with.
Why Time Win Seeded.
A hint aa to some of the causes why the
t -. , . . 1 .1 KI . ah .. 1m
contained I In the remarks ot ' the samo
contained In the remarks of the same
officer a year later. In betraying IrrUobiUty-
because of the nonenforoeraent of a council
resolution. He aald:
In my message to the council one year
ago I referred to the forest of poles which
line our main thoroughfares and recom
mended that the most- stringent measures
be adopted to do away with this unsightly
and dangerous nuisance. Since that time
it has been practically demonstrated In this
city that an underground system of wlrea
Is no visionary theory. Anyone can satisfy
himself on that score by using a telephone
for a few moments. All the telephone wires
In the central part of the city are under-
rapidly disappearing. We should be Tory
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Desert Land Now
the mountains, and In addition a vast
amount of volcanic ash. Ashes are one of
the best fertilisers known. Those made
from Canada hardwood are now selling to
farmers for 22 a ton. They are used
largely for orchards and grain raising and
they form a food for the land which will
last for many years. The Inland empire
has the same constituents In Its soil; but
Its ashea coma from volcanoes.
In crossing tha Big Bend country I saw
lava everywhere. In some places the plains
are covered with It, and In others It rises
Into bluffs and broken fragments streaked
with sulphur. Along the Columbia river
there are streams of lava which look s
though the molten mass had hardened as
It rushed against tho wind. In other plaoes
It had turned to a gravel, and again It
has split up into angular-shaped rocks of
even else, looking for all the world as
though It had been run through a stono
wn jirfin i ii - - -
TO 11.000 AN ACRJC.
THE OMAIIA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE
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LOWERING ONE OT THE GIANT POLES.
grateful to the telephone company for thus
voluntarily taking the Initiative In a matter
which Is of such Importance to the city.
jn accordance with the suggestions mnde
a .year ago, steps were taken to compel
tna reniovl from the utrefts of poles which
were unnecessary or unuHPd, but the matter
neVer progressed bevond the preliminary
tage. The city electrician was ordered
to investleate the number and location of
these poles and he reported 712 polos as
unnecessary and 290 poles unused. A reso
lution was passed ordering the street com
missioner to remove certain of these poles,
and that ended It. That resolution Is
probably reposing peacefully In the In side
pocket of some official and the poles con
tinue to multiply as heretofore.
I say most emphatically that tho tele
graph companies must be compelled to
follow the example of the telephone com
pany and place their wires underground.
If
the council will co-operate with mo In
this matter we will soon be rid or the un
sightly and dangerous wires which form a
network above our main streets. As a
ha.lnnln In thl. wapIt T ropn m and (hnt
be'take "at oc7 to have 'the poi re
arJ flfe a,arm w)res , tne centra, pa"rt
tne clty placed m the ducts of the sub-
ways of the telephone company provided
for in tne franchise or saia company. It be-
InR stipulated that these ducts are to be
for the exclusive use of the city free of
charge. This should be followed by a
vbrorous and relentless war on telegraph
f3les. Let us proceed In a regular and
egal manner and If the telegjrmh com
panies refuse to comply let us follow the
example of New York and other cities and
cut down the poles.
Benefits ( Darted Wires.
A prominent Insurance Inspector In a
cnt PPr tb benefit of under..
SAWINO OFF THE POLE
crusher to make paving material.
It is bard to imagine a mora desolate,
thirsty lsnd than this, when undeveloped.
There are no trees, no green bushes, and
afl Is bleak and bare. It la a desert, and
no one would Imagine that it would raise
enough to feed a Jack rabbit. k Still right
In tho midst of such territory vast wheat
fields are now to be seen. Thera are
patchea of green everywhere. Farms have
grown up In the midst of the bleakness
and tha desert lself Is yielding forty and
more bushels of wheat to tha acre.
As I passed through on tha railroad I
saw many ragged little Stations of wooden
one-story buildings. The only lsrge struc
tures In them were wheat sheds and ele
vators, with here and there a flour mill.
These sheds are filled with grain at tha
time of harvest. They will not hold tha
crop, and the overflow Is stscked up In
bags outside. This inland empire Is now '
producing something like 60.OCO.000 bushels
of wheat In one year, and still the Big
Bend country has been hardly touched.
The Mate of Washington alone produced
SOjO.Oro bushels last year, and the pros
pect is that it will do better this.
Hew iMuiu ot tbe West.
I hsve-been writing considerable about
Canada and Its wheat belt. The Canucks
have an empire yet to develop, and they
think that Uncle Sam has reached the
maximum of his farming possibilities.
There was never a greater mistake. Wo
are discovering new lands every yesr. and
some 6f the best parts of our country are
yet to be reclaimed.
A great deal of the Big Bend region can
be farmed without Irrigation, and there
are reclamation projects on- hand which
will redeem millions of acres. This very
land through which I have been riding
could have been bought LNsut a decade
ago for S or 10 cents an acre. .The North
ern Pacific Railroad company owned a
vast quantity of It, consisting of altemsto
sections for fifty miles along Its track. It
had the lands examined by scientific ex
perts, and on the basis of tlfelr representa
tion a great deal of the conoesslon . went
for a song. The same' lands are -now
worth 330 and upward per acre. They aro
producing wheat, and tt Is believed they .
will conttr.ue 'a yield for a generation
without fertilisation. The lands along tho
Great Northern railway are equally good,
and the whole region will rapidly settle.
Take the bleek and bare hills Just oppo
site this town of Wenatcbea. Tbsy aro
. being cut up Into farms and will soon bo
covered with wheat. A short time ago yott
could not have givea them away, and now
they axe worth a good price aa farming
3,. 1906.
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ground wires to a municipality as follows:
Enhanced appearance of tha streets.
Increase of private and public safety. '
Removal of II flit obstructions from
ground and second floors.
Improvement of service by corpora
tions. Ellnilnntlon of Interference with work of
fire department. -
Underground wire systems are the log
ical . outcome of the development of elec
tricity and the growth of cities. As the
original cost of conduit Installation Is from
four to five times and more greater than
the first cost of pole lines, It is not dif
ficult to understand why service companies
did not discard aerial construction at the
beginning. But as the business of these
companies . has Increased conditions
chanrred so as to make conduits highly de
sirable from an economic point of view.
To be popular and profitable, a public
rvk corporation finds It must depend
, th, meaBure upon the quality.
contmulty and aafety of IU services. In
, . . . . ',., ,..,
are conducive to none of the three. Poles
break down, high winds and branches of
trees throw the service out of Joint and
sleet and rain storms are capable of put
ting out of business the best pole lines
that can be built. The public has little
use for an electrlo light and power or tele
phone company, that does not work In
times of stress.
During a recent winter In New England
the damage to pole lines azceeded tbe loas
!
VV3
Devoted
lands. They aro cultivated without Irriga
tion, and to the surprise of the sclentlflo
wiseacres are producing wonderful crops.
Grata from tho Desert.
I find that grain Is now being grown all
along the Columbia, and hero and there
almost everywhere throughout tho Inland
empire. Tho land Is handled on a mighty
scale, the finest of agricultural machinery
being used. There aro steam plows now
turning tha soU which will cut nine fur
rows at a time, and steam harvesters, ona
of which will reap and thrash fifty acres
of wheat in a day. Such mrohlnea cut a
swath fourteen feet wide and deliver tho
grain in bags. The expenses of cultivation
are so reduced that wheat Is now grown
at a cost of 28 cents a bushel, which
means a net 100 per cent profit I hear all
aorta of fairy stories as to big crops.
yOKTI-JLCRI ORCllARD LV
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VIEW DOWN FARNAM STREET
by shipwreck along tha contiguous coast.
If a company Is going to lose large sums
directly from moods of the weather and
Indirectly at the hands of disgusted
patrons, directors are bound to seek means
of Improvement, and this Is exactly what
has taken place. As long as life and prop
erty hasards alone wer9 to be considered
the pole lines would do.
Telephone Company Experiences.
Telephone companies have been among
the biggest sufferers from storms. These
concerns have found, too, that the wire
capacity of a street haa a Urr'.t which they
are often In sore need or extending. The
limit of a pole line is about 250 wires. A
single cable will hold four times as many,
but a conduit system has an estlmited ca
pacity of over 400 times tho stoutest pole
line ever built.
Morse the Pioneer TUtnter,
Curiously enough the first wiring dona
was underground, making the conduit con
struction older than tho aerial. A portion
of Morse's telegraph Invention was a
method for burying wires. The first tele
graph Una was built In 1E4S between Bal
timore and Washington and" the first seven
miles out from Baltimore were laid under
ground. The wires were placed In lead
pipe and laid In a plow . furrow. They
proved Inoperative. Luckily, perhaps, a
foreman was unable to bury wires In a
ton viaduct and pressed for a substitute.
.,, (.ffi
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BUILDING A CONDUIT
to Fruit
Farmers ssy single acres have produced
seventy bushels of wheat, and one quarter
aectlon Is cited as turning out 10,000 bushels
of oats In one year.
Speaking of tho wheat along tho Colum
bia. I had a chat the other night with T.
A. Da vies, general manager of tho Colum
bia and Okanogan Steamship company,
whose boats run about lbO miles up tho
Columbia and Okanogan rivers, through a
country not reached by tho railroads. Ho
aaya that bis vessels brought mors than
1.000,000 bushels of wheat down to tho
Great Northern at Wenatcheo last year
and that a great part of tho country la be
ing put under 'wheat,
Tha farmers haul tho grain to tho river
landings and pile it there in bags In
mounds. At one station last fall 38,000
sacks, containing 90.000 bushels of grain,
wero traught in for shipment, and there
TuD INLAND EMPIRE WHICH PBODUCXD
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LAST JANUARY.
Invented wooden poles with cattle horn
for Insulators. The schema worked and
aerial construction followed.
' Omahf Well Vp o Country.
Omaha does not appear to be hopelessly
behind the rest bf tho country In tha
matter of protection from wlros. An In
surance man said not long ego:
"It Is perhaps within the past ten yeara
that the attention of the average munici
pality has been forcibly directed to tha
dangerous condition of the older types of
overhead wiring. It has usually waited
for some calamity to rrystallxe publla
opinion and bring a united demand for
relief, but of late years civic pride has led
to a number of agitations to secure tha
removal of unsightly pole lines from tha
principal streets."
The local telephone company started to
bury Its wires In lttS and has kept pretty
steadily at It ever since. Tha electrlo
light and power company went under
ground In the business district In 1903.
The telegraph companies began last year
to put their wires in conduits, and tha
work of changing over to the underground
system was completed this spring. During;
the last few weeks tho Western Union
and the Postal companies have been saw
ing down the Immense poles that stood
on the downtown streets. Last year the
electric light conduit district was extended
on the south from Jackson to Leaven
worth street.
MANnOLE.
and Grain
were stacks of bags all along the river.
In many placea tho river runs 2.000 feet
below tho level of tho wheat fields, ami
tha bags aro carried down to tho boats on
aerial trams, tbe wheat carrying tha
empty cara back.
Mr! Davlas haa now aeven boats on this!
river carrying wheat, fruit and passengers.
Ho tells mo that tho country la rapidly
Bottling and that from tho shore of tho
river eastward is a vast expanse of wheat
fields. There aro also dairy farms and.
farther up, mining settlements. Tha cat
tho country begins at tho mouth of tho
Okanogan, and beyond it la a rich mining
region.
Ail along tha way aro little valleys de
voted to fruit, somewhat similar to tha
Wenatcheo valley, where this letter It
written. These aro being opened up to
(Continued on Pago Seven.)
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